Today in Tribe History: December 19, 1975

Corner infielder and occasional outfielder Russell Branyan is born in Georgia.

Branyan was a home run hitting threat throughout his Major League career, often hitting long moonshots that impressed the crowd, only to strike out at frustrating rates while hitting for a low average. He spent his first five MLB seasons with the Indians before being dealt in 2002 to the Cincinnati Reds for Ben Broussard.

He signed with Atlanta in February of 2004 but would be traded back to Cleveland in April. He would not appear at the MLB level and was instead later dealt in July to the Brewers. After stops in Milwaukee, Tampa Bay, and San Diego, he signed in August of 2007 back with the Indians, only to be purchased by Philadelphia two days later.

Following a trade to St. Louis, another trip through Milwaukee, and a free agent deal with Seattle, Branyan returned to Cleveland as a free agent in 2010. The trip was short lived once again as he was traded back to Seattle for Ezequiel Carrera and Juan Diaz. He spent his final big league season split between Arizona and Los Angeles with the Angels in 2011, but did return to the Indians organization one final time late in the 2014 season on a minor league contract.